In the past, footings have generally been constructed of concrete, which is heavy to transport to the site, requires mixing with water, has a long curing time before it can be used, and leaves tools difficult to clean at best or useless at worst. Until now, when a homeowner or contractor wanted to build a deck, shed, porch or other small structure, the preferred way he or she could create a proper footing was to mix concrete (usually by hand in small batches), pour it into a prepared hole, with or without a paper tube placed therein, and wait a day or more for the concrete to set up. This is a tedious and time consuming task which often produces unsatisfactory results. Most applications require multiple footings. Frequently, such applications are in remote areas to which concrete and water have to be carried with no small difficulty. If the footing is set in the wrong place or at the wrong height, it has to be dug out and replaced, resulting in additional expense and loss of time.
Much of the prior art involves the use of concrete with all its disadvantages: U.S. Pat. No. 4,648,220 to Sven R. Gebelius (Mar. 10, 1987); U.S. Pat. No. 4,269,010 to Carl R. Glass (May 26, 1981) U.S. Pat. No. 4,995,206 to Colonias, Lafayette, et als. (Feb. 26, 1991). Some prior art involves complex metal structures: Gebelius, supra, Colonias, supra. Others are not suitable for supporting more than posts for fences, mailboxes, and the like: U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,032 to John F. Lehman (Dec. 31, 1991); Glass, supra. Still others merely sit on the surface of the ground: U.S. Pat. No. 5,392,575 to Hoffman and Bright (Feb. 28, 1995); require that wood or other structural materials be installed below ground: U.S. Pat. No. 4,972,642 to Frederick P. Strobl, Jr. (Nov. 27, 1990); or are more suitable to the construction of larger buildings: U.S. Pat. No. 4,263,762 to Stanley D. Reed (Apr. 28, 1981).
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved system for constructing footings.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved system for constructing footings in which the use of concrete is no necessary for establishing the footing.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved footing system for support structures that is easy to use and relatively simple to construct in place.
According, several objects and advantages of the present invention are its ease of transport to the place of use, clean and simple installation, availability for immediate use, consistency of strength, and imperviousness to degradation.
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide an improved system for constructing a footing that is preferably of a hard plastic material and that is constructed so as to be maintained in place once erected.